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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23894689">Paradise</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovehugsandcandy/pseuds/lovehugsandcandy'>lovehugsandcandy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Endless Summer (Visual Novel)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:34:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>766</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23894689</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovehugsandcandy/pseuds/lovehugsandcandy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>La Huerta is beautiful. La Huerta is deadly. </p>
<p>(A request- the end of Book 2, Chapter 6, on the bridge with Quinn. Warning: swearing, cannon-compliant illness/fainting)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Quinn Kelly/Main Character (Endless Summer)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Paradise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Taylor walked out of the throne room, blinking furiously so he could see through the sunlight pouring through the cloudless sky. He was exhausted, relieved, but Uqzhaal’s warning still echoed in his mind: </span>
  <em>
    <span>the greatest storm lies ahead</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, there was absolutely no storm in sight. La Huerta was stunning. It had amazed him since he crashed onto this island, plane landing in untainted wilderness. Flowers bloomed in colors and textures unimaginable before his trip. In the distance, a waterfall was barely audible, tinkling in precious melody over the roar of waves below. Even with the rubble from Cetus’ attack marring the city around him, it still stood tall amidst the massive tree, majestic and proud above the verdant forest below.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>La Huerta was something out of a dream. Deadly, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh </span>
  </em>
  <span>so beautiful.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sea rolled out endlessly into the horizon and Taylor caught sight of yet another beautiful island sight, perched on a walkway balancing in midair, solemnly staring into the waves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Quinn…” He took a seat next to her, bridge shifting beneath his weight, legs dangling over the wooden planks. She turned, sunlight bouncing off of her hair, a fiery glow rivaled only by her kind smile; she still looked pale but he was grateful she was upright, recovered from her spell during the ceremony.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh...I’m glad it’s you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We did it, Quinn. We saved the day. Can you believe it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As a matter of fact, I can.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah...because of you, Taylor. More than this place, more than everything that’s happened to us….it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> that makes me believe in the impossible.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pursed his lips. Something wasn’t right. He had been feeling an eerie sense of deja vu ever since he arrived at La Huerta, even on the plane, moments of time flying from past and future into his consciousness with an intensity, a vividness, that left him reeling. But this dread in his stomach? This was important, something tugging at him, just out of reach. “Good. Because we’ve still got a long road ahead if we’re ever going to get out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His heart stopped, a weightless pause in his chest before it started again, triple-time roar thundering in his ears. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Her words</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The dread roiled over, churning in his stomach. He saw this before; he </span>
  <em>
    <span>lived </span>
  </em>
  <span>this before. “Quinn? Quinn, stay with me. Something bad’s about to happen!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She leaned against him; normally, he would relish this small intimacy but the terror was building, as if he could sense danger approaching, from somewhere, something, hidden in every vibrant flower, under every peaceful wave. Her eyes welled, sheen making their depths shine brilliantly in the sunlight. “Everyone fights so hard to have some say in their own life...to have some control over themselves.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Quinn, no! You can’t let this happen! I didn’t have time to change it yet!” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Why was this the prophecy coming true? The other visions flashed through his mind, lightening-fast images of horror: the shock in Raj’s face as the harpoon hit, Sean leaping headstrong over the cliff, the eerie silence of the cave of graves. Why was this one real? Why did it have to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But in the end...all we really have control over…” He needed to focus to hear the words as her voice weakened, fading to a whisper, eyes fluttering as she sagged against his side. “Is whether we appreciated what we had.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No...no, don’t leave me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her voice was barely breath, and tears dripped from his eyes into her hair. “And when you finally make it...to the other side…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“HELP! SOMEONE, COME QUICK! WE NEED HELP!” he bellowed, scream pulled from his lungs as an arm desperately winded around her waist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll be the queen...you always carried….”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...inside you.” Just as he finished her sentence, she went limp, head lolling against his shoulder. He could feel her shoulders rise, barely, weakly, breaths coming slower and slower as he pulled her close, clutching her tight, letting the tears pour down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Inside, he was begging, pleading to the heavens for help. The only response was the sun gleaming overhead, shining onto the softly lapping water below. He had defeated Cetus, escaped Sharktooth Isle, rescued Diego from the Vaanti’s imprisonment. But now? All he could do was cry, tears falling from his eyes off the bridge, plunging into the teal depths below, ocean stretched underneath him for miles, dangling high above in a city in the trees, clutching a girl as beautiful as the flowers that lined the island.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>La Huerta was stunning.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
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